‘ These projects shouldn’t be ... in fish habitat’
The company estimates the channels produce 100,000 fry per year, although it’s unknown how many of those fish are additional to the system or might have spawned elsewhere in the absence of the channels.
“We’re very pleased with that, it’s a very important part of our project,” Kennedy said.
Environmental impact
Despite the events revealed in the documents, the run- ofriver power industry says its projects have fewer environmental impacts on fish than traditional BC Hydro dams. They also do not emit the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide associated with power production from burning fossil fuels.
Clean Energy B. C. ( an industry group formerly called the Independent Power Association of B. C.) boasts in a twopage, run- of- river fact sheet that the industry is sustainable “green electricity” and that its projects are developed responsibly with “minimal impact” on vegetation, bird or wildlife habitat.
The word “fish” is mentioned only once.
Clean Energy B. C. executive director Paul Kariya confirmed it is “probably for sure that every hydro project ever developed in B. C. has killed fish,” be it private or public. “Sadly all developments like this have impacts,” he said.
“Isn’t the bigger question, how are we going to power our province in the future? We need electricity and this demand will grow in excess of what we can do through conservation.”
Does that make run- of- river projects green?
“The green label is very subjective,” responded Julia Berardinucci, the south coast’s director of resource management for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
“I would want to refrain from saying yes or no, one way or the other.”
Berardinucci said run- of- river projects represent an “emerging technology” operating in a “challenging landscape.”
The government’s regulation of such projects and industry’s response are both improving, she argued.
“We’re seeing some incidents occurring, but relative to the number of [ power] plant operations, it’s obviously a point of opinion as to whether it’s having obvious impacts,” she said from her Surrey office.
“The potential risk is always there for all the plants....”
Improved design
Improved plant design standards and monitoring of operations along with continuing “learn- as- we- go” revisions to ramping guidelines are all improving the situation, she said.
The federal fisheries department said in its statement it is developing monitoring procedures to improve the assessment of impacts from run- of- river projects.
In collaboration with industry and the B. C. government, the department is also developing a ramping guide to reduce impacts to fish and fish habitat.
Environmentalists are not satisfied and say it is time to put the brakes on an industry shown not to be environmentally benign.
The Wilderness Committee is calling for a moratorium on further approvals of such projects and federal charges where fish and fish habitat have suffered.
“You have poor planning and low environmental standards,” said Barlee, whose group has been a leading critic of run- ofriver projects over the years. “These projects shouldn’t be situated in fish habitat at all.”